• UGI USER
  • Sep 05, 2023
  • 23 Likes
  • 0 Comments

Q. What are the important learnings from the life and teachings of Sri Adi Shankaracharya that can help public servants in their personal and professional lives.

Approach:

  • Introduce with a brief write-up on the teachings of Sri Adi Shankaracharya.
  • Discuss their relevance in terms of developing good personal and professional conduct for public servants and substantiate with examples.
  • Conclude accordingly.

Answer:

  • Sage Sri Adi Shankaracharya, the great Indian philosopher and social reformer who lived during the 8th century, was attracted towards sanyasam from the very beginning and wanted to lead a meaningful life.
  • In this pursuit, pure knowledge and spirituality were instrumental for him. He was considered a ‘moving library’ because of his observations of the various philosophical aspects of human life.
  • He traced knowledge to the Vedas and submitted to its impersonal authority. Also, right from his childhood days, he worked for the welfare of the society.

His teachings are relevant for public servants, who are the building blocks of administrative machinery of the government and are expected to perform a diverse set of roles in their personal and professional lives, as discussed below:

  • Sri Shankaracharya believed that one should act like a ‘sanyasi’ and lead a meaningful life by freeing oneself from worldly pleasures. This teaching can enable public servants to perform duties with honesty and integrity without any self-interest. It will also help in curbing self- aggrandisement and consumerism.
  • The idea of ‘jagat mithya, brahma satyam’ propounded by him can be helpful to guide public servants to rise above the illusionary world and see the reality of life. It enables them to be objective while performing a diverse set of roles. It will also help in maintaining morality in personal life as the person will not practice favouritism.
  • For Sri Shankaracharya, pure knowledge was instrumental in leading a meaningful life. This holds significance in a public servant’s life, as he/she needs to be well versed with the legal, constitutional, social and ethical aspects of public service in order to perform his/her responsibilities in accordance with the prevailing customs and laws.
  • His idea of surrendering to impersonal authority guides public servants to treat all the stakeholders equally and not allow individual differences to influence them while performing their duties.
  • His life was all about Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam and removing conflicts, which are relevant for public service. The concept ensures that people of all castes, creeds, groups and nationalities lead happy, healthy, illness-free and culturally rich lives. It will also help an individual curb his/her own biases and stereotypes and broaden horizons of morality in his/her personal life.

In present times, public servants are subjected to a lot of pulls and pressures. Strictly adhering to these teachings and lessons would help them navigate and figure out a path to fulfill their duties. Also, to remain efficient and relevant in a fast-changing environment, the pursuit of knowledge would ensure that their decisions are based on sound logic and rationality.